The film marks director Julian Schnabel’s adaptation of Nick Tosches’ 2002 novel, a project that spent years in development before eventually landing at Netflix earlier this year.
The Long Road Behind ‘In the Hand of Dante’
Part of the fascination surrounding “In the Hand of Dante” comes from how long the picture has existed as a Hollywood rumor. The adaptation dates back to 2008, when Johnny Depp’s production company first acquired the rights to Tosches’ novel with Depp originally expected to star. Schnabel was later attached to direct, but the project remained largely dormant for more than a decade before reemerging with Oscar Isaac in the lead role.
The story itself moves between two different worlds connected by a handwritten manuscript of Dante Alighieri’s “Divine Comedy.” Isaac plays both the Italian poet and author Nick Tosches, who becomes entangled in a criminal underworld after a supposed original manuscript surfaces and attracts the attention of New York mob figures. The film contrasts Dante’s spiritual and artistic journey with a modern world driven by greed, violence, and the commodification of art.
The trailer has also drawn attention for its visual style. Sequences centered on Dante were filmed in color across Italy, while the contemporary storyline unfolds in stark black and white. Early footage hints at a blend of historical drama, crime thriller, religious symbolism, and surreal imagery, elements that have made the project difficult to categorize and easy to debate online.
Another major reason the trailer exploded across social media is the cast itself. Alongside Isaac, the picture features Gal Gadot, Gerard Butler, Jason Momoa, John Malkovich, and Al Pacino, while Martin Scorsese serves as executive producer and also appears onscreen in an acting role.
The movie premiered out of competition at the Venice Film Festival in 2025, though discussion around it intensified after an unfinished version leaked online before its debut. Netflix later acquired distribution rights and plans a theatrical release on June 12 before the film arrives on streaming later that month.